3 Like the way 13 2019 in review promotion feels? A brief round-up of a monumental year in Salford City’s history... HONOURS Eccles & District League Division 2 1955-56, 1959-60 Eccles & District League Division 3 1958-59 Manchester League Division 1 1968-69 Manchester League Premier Division 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79 Northern Premier League Division 1 North 2014-15 Northern Premier League Play-Off Winners 2015-16 National League North 2017-18 National League Play-Off Winners 2018-19 Lancashire FA Amateur Cup 1971, 1973, 1975 Manchester FA Challenge Trophy 1975, 1976 Manchester FA Intermediate Cup 1977, 1979 NWCFL Challenge Cup Take your business to the next level with our 2006 award-winning employee wellbeing services CLUB ROLL President Dave Russell Chairman Karen Baird 16. Salford City vs Crewe Alexandra Secretary Andy Giblin Committee Jim Birtwistle, Pete Byram, Ged Carter, Barbara Gaskill, Terry Gaskill, Ian Malone, Frank McCauley, Paul Raven, 07 32 Counselling Advice Online support George Russell, Bill Taylor, Alan Tomlinson, Dave Wilson Groundsmen George Russell, Steve Thomson On The Road The Gaffer Shop Manager Tony Sheldon CSR Co-ordinator Andrew Gordon In this special, Frank McCauley casts Graham Alexander leaves us with his Media Zarah Connolly, Ryan Deane, his mind back over how away trips final notes of the year. Will Moorcroft Photography Charlotte Tattersall, have changed since 2010. Howard Harrison 42 First Team Manager Graham Alexander 25 Assistant Manager Chris Lucketti Visitors Speak to one of our experts today GK Coach Carlo Nash Kit Manager Paul Rushton On This Day Head of Performance Dave Rhodes Find out more about this afternoon’s Physiotherapist Steve Jordan Boxing Day is a constant fixture in the opponents Crewe Alexandra! Club Doctor Dr. Mubin Ibrahim football calendar so plenty to look Sport Science Rob Williams back on from the last few years... Performance Analysis Ross Duncan Director of Football Chris Casper 0800 028 8712 Head of Scouting Greg Strong Today’s edition has been put together Development Coach Warren Joyce 31 slightly differently due to the need to Head of Academy Jamie Russell print parts at different times to keep Assistant Academy Manager Lewis Craig information as up to date as possible! Academy Staff Andy Badby, Josh Coulson, Captain’s Notes Luke Morgan, Joe Potts, Liam Preece, Walsall will be similar, with a normal Sam Tomkins See what Liam Hogan has to say full format resumed for Northampton, Lionesses Manager Shauna Duffy ahead of today’s game. after a shortened Port Vale edition. health assured.org Programme printed by MatchDay Creative www.salfordcityfc.co.uk 5 Superfast Fibre Broadband and UK calls Frankly £19.95 a month for 18 months Speaking GET OUR CHRISTMAS FRIENDS There wasn’t a lot of interest on television the other Two questions then. Benfica listed 22 players that evening so, as is often the case, my mind wandered afternoon. Which of them has played and scored against to things football related. For no particular reason my Salford City this season? And how many of them are still thoughts settled on academies and development squads. Benfica players? I’ll give you a clue – the answer to the AND FAMMIELY DEAL How successful are they and does a club introduce them second question is less than two! That’s right, one! because it’s a requirement, because they see the way forward as developing their own players to progress into Now that doesn’t mean none of them have gone on to play the first team or because everyone else is doing it? for clubs at a decent level. Here are brief accounts on how An exclusive offer for all Salford City FC fans. they have ‘developed’ and there are a couple of surprises: This afternoon’s opposition have had a reputation for a still at the club is Goncalves (on loan at Famalica). The talktalk.co.uk/salfordfc long number of years for bringing players through from following are at various other clubs in Portugal: Ferreira their youth set up into first team action. We saw this to our (CD Santa Clara), Alfaiete (Lusitano), Graca (Estoril and detriment at Gresty Road earlier this season. Exeter City, a Cape Verde international), Lima (FC Felgueiras 1932), visitors to the Peninsula Stadium a couple of weekends ago, Rodrigues (Vitoria Guimaraes), Pereira (Setubal, capped by also set great store by developing their own. Cape Verde, he spent time at Nottingham Forest in 2016-17) Ferreira (CD Tondela), Costa (Estoril), Pereira (Setubal and a Whatever the reason it surely has to be a costly undertaking Cape Verde international who also spent time at Forest) and which only pays dividends if players do end up in your first Andrade (at Estoril but on loan to Chapecoense in Brazil). team or if they move to another club for a financial fee. Unfortunately, the likes of the Busby Babes or the Class of Players with permanent clubs outside Portugal are: Nunes, ‘92 are a rare commodity. in Greece with Panathinaikos. Lystcov at Krylya Sovetov Samara in Russia. Rebocho on loan from French club Gu- If you look back at old programmes covering Schools or ingamp at Besiktas in Turkey. Dawidowicz at Verona in Italy. Youth international matches, overall, a large number don’t Santos plays at Academica Clinceni in Romania. Silva is at make that breakthrough. Lausanne Sport in Switzerland. Bauque plays for Gabala FC in Azerbaijan. Paraguay born Vera is at Club Petrolero de And then a thought struck me. I wonder how do things Yacuiba in Bolivia. Sanches is a full Portugese international compare on the Continent? Do they have a better success playing at Lille. Carvalho cost Nottingham Forest £13.2 ratio? And then, something akin to a ‘lightbulb moment’! million in 2018. Ribeiro is also at Forest. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how many of the Benfica B squad who turned out against Salford at St. And the big one – Oliver Sarkic scored for Burton Albion George’s Park back in July 2015 actually made the break against Salford in the FA Cup a few weeks ago! He is tipped through to the first team. as a future Montenegro international. So, it was upstairs to search out the team sheet from that Currently, Benfica top the Primeira Liga but have they game and a trawl through the internet to come up with the gained or lost on the Class of ‘15? answer. (Yes, I did have that much time on my hands!) www.salfordcityfc.co.uk Terms and conditions apply - please see website for details Salford FC Sponsorship Ad4.indd 1 05/12/2019 11:54 7 on the road Frank McCauley uses his final travels column of the decade to re-call some of his stand-out away days... As this is not just the last home game of the calendar year ourselves and a Class of ’92 Select XI at Salford Reds’ it is also the last game of the 2010s so the Editor thought rugby league ground when a capacity 11,000 caused a it would be a good idea to cast my thoughts back over delay to kick-off. A County Premier Cup defeat at bottom of some away trips from the last 10 years. Looking through the North West Counties Second Division club Oldham Town various diaries two things struck me, firstly the number was a blow and possibly heralded the arrival of Bernard of postponements we used to have and secondly how, as Morley and Anthony Johnson to the club in January 2015. we moved up through the Non-League Pyramid and trips became longer, incidents and mishaps became more Their first away defeat came in their second game in charge frequent. The following is a fairly random dip into and the words of ‘encouragement’ offered in the changing something approaching 200 odd away matches. room post-match at Brighouse set the tone for future success! A pre-season visit to St. George’s Park in the July As the ‘10s’ began we were just beginning to get our feet to take on Benfica’s B team gave us a glimpse of how ‘the under the Northern Premier League First Division North table other half’ lives. An unforgettable occasion. having survived at the standard on the final day of our initial season. The majority of our trips were to grounds spread Travel for the extended journeys over the next few seasons across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and was to be on the team coach, an indication of how far we Yorkshire taking less than a couple of hours to get to. As is had come. Some of those trips are branded into my memory the way in football some venues and opposition were more but as the saying goes; ‘What goes on tour stays on tour.’ looked forward to than others. At one we were referred to in So, if anybody ever talks about chasing sheep it won’t be me! the hospitality room post-match as ‘thugs’! FA Cup matches at Hartlepool United and Shrewsbury are The decade started with a 4-1 reversal at Lancaster City. stand out memories but who will ever forget coming back Highlights were few and far between but a convincing, to draw after being 4-0 down at Kidderminster with just 10 if unexpected, 4-0 FA Cup win at Lancaster sticks out minutes remaining in March 2018? Defeat on penalties in the from 2012. In the March of 2013, we made the final of the play-off semi-final at Halifax was a bitter pill to swallow as Manchester County Cup only to lose at Stockport County’s was the hammering at Wrexham exactly 12 months ago.